Posponed for a while

These past few months have been pretty rough on our family.  Being back and forth in court starts to take it's toll on person, and you begin to wonder why you're doing something.  It takes time for the court to get it's ideas together and issue some sort of decision on where things are going to go from there. 

In the time that it took the court to get an idea of where Kelsie would finally reside, we, were not able to come up with the funds to pay for her adventure to Europe in June 2013.  However, after speaking with the Representative from People to People, she is now on the top of the mailing list to be invited to go to the next delegation in June 2014.  This is going to be a big deal for us.  Since Kelsie will be coming back home, shortly, she will be able to start to do the fundraising herself instead of just relying on the good nature of others.  I was glad that there were some who were more than willing to help her meet her goals, but, a bit shocked that no one else really did anything with it. 

I want Kelsie to do this.. it's such a huge life changing event that she would love! I am going to continue to ask for whatever donation you are able to make to help us with our goal of $8300.  I am going to show her how to sew and she's going to make messenger bags and sell those.  We are going to do a benefit dinner for her.  I am going to turn some awesome challis's on the lathe and sell those as well.  Kelsie has even stated that when she gets home, she wants to get a job to help finance this whole thing.  With an extra year to get the money to get this done, I'm very convinced that we will, no doubt, be able to send her to do this. 

There are countless ways to reach our goals, and if you have an idea, then feel free to let me know.  Look for our fundraisers to begin as early as February 2013.  I will put up pictures of the things that are made for sale.  I am hoping that this will indeed be a great adventure for Kelsie.

If you would like to make a donation, please go to our site at http://studentambassadorkelsielucero.chipin.com/people-to-people-student-ambassador-kelsie-lucero
As I have said before, it's OK if you can only make a small donation, because, after all, the small amounts add up and can make a huge difference.

Correction

I think it wise to mention that while writing yesterday, I said that past delagation had been able to meet Queen Elizabeth III, I really meant Queen Elizabeth II.  Sorry for the typo :)

Getting accepted to go to Europe

It's not always easy being a step parent. It's even harder if you’re not married to your partner, nor do I intend to really get that far. However, we have made a serious commitment to each other and I have every intention of keeping it that way.

My family is therefore a blended one. I love my family. Initially, when my daughter, Piper, and I moved in with Tomy and his daughter, Kelsie, we called ourselves a herd. Kind of like in Ice Age. I like to tell him that, in a herd, you take care of one another. I like that idea. It makes it easier for all of us. Besides, I think the 'f'' word, made him a little uncomfortable at first. So we were a herd.

Fast forward 2+ years and we are still a herd. Slightly dysfunctional, but a herd nonetheless. Experts suggest that over 85% of families in America today, are in fact, dysfunctional, so, we just happen to fall into that part of their ideas of what's normal and what's not.

This whole past year has been somewhat a blur for me and Tomy especially. It started off normally enough, I fell asleep before midnight, happens every year, and we were off and running on the next year. Kelsie was visiting her mom at the time, Piper was with us.

Kelsie came home, and we have been fighting her mother since then to keep custody... That in and of itself is a much longer more detailed drawn out story, which I do not have time to deal with today... maybe will do another blog on that can of worms...

Fast forward some more. Kelsie had a breakdown and was placed into foster care to help her deal with things she needed to get counseling on. Up here, we don't have the specialized councilors for sexual abuse victims, so she is staying in Pine for a while. Not to mention she needs to work on her following directions skills as well. She's a teenager and knows everything; I know I did when I was that age... and I had rights.. hahaha...

Around August this year, we got something in the mail for Kelsie from a group called People to People Student Ambassadors. So we went to this meeting in Flagstaff. It was a great day for all of us. We took a friend of Kelsie's, Beau, and all of us, including Piper went to Flagstaff and shopped and ate good food and got to go to this meeting. There was a lot of paperwork to fill out and Kelsie had to get things going on her end. There was also a hefty fee attached with the application, but, going to Europe is not a cheap thing to do.

People to People Student Ambassadors is a program started by President Eisenhower in 1956. In the years that have followed, the students have gone to all 7 continents. There are over 500, 000 alumni and have meet leaders in the world like Robert Kennedy, Ronald Regan, Queen Elizabeth III, and Mikel Gorbachev. They saw the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. They even went to see Barak Obama's inauguration. This program offers a chance of a lifetime to go and see that the world is no unlike the one that you and I live in. Mothers and Fathers want more and better things for their kids, men are seeking woman, woman are seeking men, and overall, everyone wants to be happy.

We were so excited to learn that she was accepted into this program. Not only was she accepted into this, she gets to go with the delegation from New Mexico, they are going to Italy, Sicily, and Greece. In all of my travels, those are three places I have never been to, but, wow, to go to Rome... I'm so jealous.

The fee that is attached with this is a lot of money. I have tried to contact all my family, friends, and even the local newspapers as well as the local magazine publication with little luck. I have one small donation, but, I don't see $12 going very far. While it's not going to get us far, I think it we can do better. I am including the website that is the link to her chipin page. The goal is set for $8300 and we have until April. But, it would be lovely if I could get it all the way paid for much sooner than that. If you would like to make a contribution, the site is http://studentambassadorkelsielucero.chipin.com/people-to-people-student-ambassador-kelsie-lucero

I am mostly convinced that if this was a case of childhood cancer, I have no doubt that everyone would be able to donate even the smallest amount, but, since, Kelsie is a healthy 16 year old trying to get to Europe, it seems like an unlikely case. Consider this, if you had been molested for 4 years, then raped by your half brother, and had to go through highly specialized sexual assault victim counseling until, well, you were done, how much fund raising could you really do on your own?

I do tell her that you can't keep bad things from happening to you. Hard times come for everyone. Life is about how you react and overcome the things that hurt you. Think good thoughts, be kind to others, and remember that life is a self fulfilling prophecy. We all have the potential for greatness... and through it all, love is the most powerful force in the universe. Help me help to get this great kid at chance to see the world through a one of a kind, life changing experience.